Ok so my radiator had a hole in it, which leaked coolant out and caused the truck to overheat. Then it failed to start after being refilled. The block is full of coolant and there is no compression in the cylinders. I was told that this meant a blown head gasket, so I tore everything off the head to replace the gasket, but it appears as if the gasket is still good? As in... it's not broken.

I don't know much about engines, I just know how to take things apart and put them back together. Can you guys shed some light on this?

Pictures for reference:

Head and valves:

Intake ports:

Gasket:

Other side of gasket:

Cylinders (pumping out nasty coolant when the crank was turned)

Am I good to just replace the gaskets, have the head decked and rebuilt, and go? Or is there some other issue I should look for?

Mine was fully intact when i pulled mine off. However most of my head bolts were really loose. coolant was seeping out b/t the head and crankcase because they were so loose. I also had a fracture in the head above the #3 spark plug. If i were you i would first off call around town and find someone who will pressure check your head for free or as cheap as possible. If the head passes you might be one of the unfortunate rare cracked crankcase. Im hoping your luck is better than that. It could also be loose bolts too.

Mine was fully intact when i pulled mine off. However most of my head bolts were really loose. coolant was seeping out b/t the head and crankcase because they were so loose. I also had a fracture in the head above the #3 spark plug. If i were you i would first off call around town and find someone who will pressure check your head for free or as cheap as possible. If the head passes you might be one of the unfortunate rare cracked crankcase. Im hoping your luck is better than that. It could also be loose bolts too.

wait did you remove the water pump?

Ok yeah, all of my head bolts came completely out... they were really loose also. I'm gonna have the head pressure tested

Mine was fully intact when i pulled mine off. However most of my head bolts were really loose. coolant was seeping out b/t the head and crankcase because they were so loose. I also had a fracture in the head above the #3 spark plug. If i were you i would first off call around town and find someone who will pressure check your head for free or as cheap as possible. If the head passes you might be one of the unfortunate rare cracked crankcase. Im hoping your luck is better than that. It could also be loose bolts too.
wait did you remove the water pump?

How do I get the coolant out of the block... through the oil drain plug?

The reason theres coolant in the crankcase is cause you didnt pull the water pump. Should have read a chiltons! If you pull the water pump all the excess coolant in the jackets will drain out before you pull the head. If it were me i would go ahead and pull the water pump and change it. there only like 20 bones and since everything is all apart you can get to the mating surface to scrape it clean really well. Then drain your oil too while you put everything back together. TORQUE YOUR HEAD BOLTS IAW THE MANUAL! I think your gonna be fine dude. the reason theres coolant in there is just the simple fact you didnt pull the water pump. Its all good i did it 2 when i did the gasket the second time. thought i could beat the manual and save a step. only to find myself changing my oil and sucking coolant out of my cylinders w/ a shop vac lol.

The reason theres coolant in the crankcase is cause you didnt pull the water pump. Should have read a chiltons! If you pull the water pump all the excess coolant in the jackets will drain out before you pull the head. If it were me i would go ahead and pull the water pump and change it. there only like 20 bones and since everything is all apart you can get to the mating surface to scrape it clean really well. Then drain your oil too while you put everything back together. TORQUE YOUR HEAD BOLTS IAW THE MANUAL! I think your gonna be fine dude. the reason theres coolant in there is just the simple fact you didnt pull the water pump. Its all good i did it 2 when i did the gasket the second time. thought i could beat the manual and save a step. only to find myself changing my oil and sucking coolant out of my cylinders w/ a shop vac lol.

Ok so no big deal, I'll just pull the water pump tomorrow and add that to the list of parts

Thanks for all the help, it's good to know someone on here can help me. I'm gonna pick up a chiltons manual before I put everything back together for torque specs

It looks like i'm gonna need some sort of reverse torx bolt to do a lot of the manifold studs, since they all came out when I tried getting the nuts off of them

Ok so no big deal, I'll just pull the water pump tomorrow and add that to the list of parts

Thanks for all the help, it's good to know someone on here can help me. I'm gonna pick up a chiltons manual before I put everything back together for torque specs

It looks like i'm gonna need some sort of reverse torx bolt to do a lot of the manifold studs, since they all came out when I tried getting the nuts off of them

Hmm thats weird yours backed out. Yeah go to advance auto they have them in a pack of 7 different sizes. I cant remember which one is the size you need. but they sell 2 different packs, a pack with 7 and a pack w/ like 4. Get the 7. And you'll want to get some anti-sieze for the studs and nuts on the exhaust side. Its also good to put on all your other exhaust nuts bolts and studs under the truck.

All these loose head and exhaust manifold bolts are worrisome to me. Two questions:

1. Could I use lock tight on them without affecting the torque?

2. Could I use a bolt-wire lock retainer from McMaster-Carr?

If these can't be used I'm thinking of drilling the bolt heads and safety wirirg to each other or a stationary point--the way we've done it for years on aircraft. My radiator may have had problems but 4 loose head bolts could have contributed to the current problem...

All these loose head and exhaust manifold bolts are worrisome to me. Two questions:

1. Could I use lock tight on them without affecting the torque?

2. Could I use a bolt-wire lock retainer from McMaster-Carr?

If these can't be used I'm thinking of drilling the bolt heads and safety wirirg to each other or a stationary point--the way we've done it for years on aircraft. My radiator may have had problems but 4 loose head bolts could have contributed to the current problem...

Do not lock tight the bolts in place. that would not be good. You want to use anti-seize. Layinlow says rtv, he knows his shit use rtv if you want but i was told anti-seize.
I too thought about saftey wiring mine with some .032 wire. But then i figured ya know i got about 150k out of it. If i get another 150k and i have to change it again whatever. by that time the bottom end will be due anyways. So Yeah it would look sexy and defiantly hold just fine. but the only thing i was worried about was under the valve cover. what if the saftey wire snapped and worked its way down into the engine.

dont use anything on the bolts!!!
most bolts will come with something on them anyway or instructions on what to use.
what you put on the threads effects torque.
I've seen early model year 2.0 and 2.2 pull the threads out of the block.

I honestly think someone at gm forgot to do final torque spec on some engines or something
I did a 2000 alero where the rear head was soo loose it burned the gasket out.
most of the head bolts could be removed by hand.

dont use anything on the bolts!!!
most bolts will come with something on them anyway or instructions on what to use.
what you put on the threads effects torque.
I've seen early model year 2.0 and 2.2 pull the threads out of the block.

I honestly think someone at gm forgot to do final torque spec on some engines or something
I did a 2000 alero where the rear head was soo loose it burned the gasket out.
most of the head bolts could be removed by hand.

if tightened to proper spec your bolts shouldn't come out

i do agree about the torque deal....but for some applications the bolts run into or around water/oil jackets....i've seen oil leaks that originate from the bolt...oil actually walks its way up the threads...hence the rtv...you still apply the torque ratings to the bolt...the rtv will help hold the bolt in place as well as seal it

xtrememeasures10—roger, no lock tight. I was only going to safety wire the exposed head bolts, those were the only ones loose on mine. I’m having to do this at 67K, that sucks.

Worked only Mil Acft; A37B, A10A, KC10A and KC135R, no civilian stuff except of course the KC10 is a converted DC10.

cs xtreme—yea I was afraid I might be getting into a “wet” vs “dry” torque situation. I’ll get the correct bolts and follow all instructions.

Well, last night I took the right wheel off, lowered the truck level as low as my jack stands would go--I'm in a wheelchair. Studied the intake bolts and the nut at the rear of the fuel rail. Thought all day whether or not to take that fuel line loose from the fuel rail or have my brother spend a day taking off those back intake bolts, and we ended up...http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f105/9...stions-356764/

question if i have a bad water pump is there some way it could get in the cylinders? cause i had the same problem mine never overheated bad max heat 212? i replaced the radiator added coolant ran fine for about an hour i pulled over to check fluids cause it was running hotter than it should for a brand new radiator about 200 degrees so i stopped topped it off when i started it the engine was running rough sounded like a subaru wrx...was pedleing it than 30 seconds later back to normal drove another 30 minutes was running fine than when i reached my house it started doing it again when i was driving slow i tried to keep it running yet again got to my house and died now it wont start so i pulled the plugs they looked terrible carbon build up and 1 out of four looked like it had coolant/water on it cranked it with plugs out and shot out coolant/water whats my problem guys i need HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

question if i have a bad water pump is there some way it could get in the cylinders? cause i had the same problem mine never overheated bad max heat 212? i replaced the radiator added coolant ran fine for about an hour i pulled over to check fluids cause it was running hotter than it should for a brand new radiator about 200 degrees so i stopped topped it off when i started it the engine was running rough sounded like a subaru wrx...was pedleing it than 30 seconds later back to normal drove another 30 minutes was running fine than when i reached my house it started doing it again when i was driving slow i tried to keep it running yet again got to my house and died now it wont start so i pulled the plugs they looked terrible carbon build up and 1 out of four looked like it had coolant/water on it cranked it with plugs out and shot out coolant/water whats my problem guys i need HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

question if i have a bad water pump is there some way it could get in the cylinders? cause i had the same problem mine never overheated bad max heat 212? i replaced the radiator added coolant ran fine for about an hour i pulled over to check fluids cause it was running hotter than it should for a brand new radiator about 200 degrees so i stopped topped it off when i started it the engine was running rough sounded like a subaru wrx...was pedleing it than 30 seconds later back to normal drove another 30 minutes was running fine than when i reached my house it started doing it again when i was driving slow i tried to keep it running yet again got to my house and died now it wont start so i pulled the plugs they looked terrible carbon build up and 1 out of four looked like it had coolant/water on it cranked it with plugs out and shot out coolant/water whats my problem guys i need HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

either when you first overheated or when you refilled you did not get out air bubbles and overheated head. On aluminum head engines the alumnum heats and expands more than the iron block and can cause the head bolts to lose tension or movement on head gasket. This usually ends badly. If you are lucky you did not crack the head.

Why did it happen after restart? Head cooled back to original dimension and bolts lost tension or gasket was no longer able to seal at all and water leaked into cylinders. Have also seen head cracks that barely leak when hot but dump when head cools as crack opens up.

either when you first overheated or when you refilled you did not get out air bubbles and overheated head. On aluminum head engines the alumnum heats and expands more than the iron block and can cause the head bolts to lose tension or movement on head gasket. This usually ends badly. If you are lucky you did not crack the head.

Why did it happen after restart? Head cooled back to original dimension and bolts lost tension or gasket was no longer able to seal at all and water leaked into cylinders. Have also seen head cracks that barely leak when hot but dump when head cools as crack opens up.

well after i restarted it did that than back to normal than when i was pulling in the driveway it did it too idk man just hopein its not a cracked head how much are gaskets and heads anybody know?

question if i have a bad water pump is there some way it could get in the cylinders? cause i had the same problem mine never overheated bad max heat 212? i replaced the radiator added coolant ran fine for about an hour i pulled over to check fluids cause it was running hotter than it should for a brand new radiator about 200 degrees so i stopped topped it off when i started it the engine was running rough sounded like a subaru wrx...was pedleing it than 30 seconds later back to normal drove another 30 minutes was running fine than when i reached my house it started doing it again when i was driving slow i tried to keep it running yet again got to my house and died now it wont start so i pulled the plugs they looked terrible carbon build up and 1 out of four looked like it had coolant/water on it cranked it with plugs out and shot out coolant/water whats my problem guys i need HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

You got blown gasket, you can pick up fairly decent cost of new head gasket kit(I would get ARP bolts as well which you can get thru summit, howellautomotive, other links in performance sticky).

You may not need head but needs to be check, if it turns out ok, do PnP on it for improved flow and power as well since cost of getting rebuild head is the same. Good idea to put 1.6 roller rockers also.

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